Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma / 10.11.2016
Skin Surveillance Can Be Tailored To Individuals at Higher Risk of Melanoma
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Caroline Watts | Research Fellow
Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research
Sydney School of Public Health
Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) investigator
The University of Sydney
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The Melanoma Patterns of Care study was a population-based observational study of physicians’ reported clinical management of 2727 patients diagnosed with an in situ or invasive primary melanoma over a 12-month period from October 2006 to 2007 in New South Wales, Australia. This paper investigated the differences between 1052 (39%) patients who were defined as higher risk owing to a family history of melanoma, multiple primary melanomas, or many nevi (moles) compared to patients who did not have any risk factors.
We found that the higher-risk group had a younger mean age at diagnosis compared to those without risk factors, (62 vs 65 years, P < .001) which varied by type of risk factor (56 years for patients with a family history, 59 years for those with many nevi, and 69 years for those with a previous melanoma). These age differences were consistent across all body sites. Among higher-risk patients, those with many nevi were more likely to have melanoma on the trunk (41% vs 29%, P < .001), those with a family history of melanoma were more likely to have melanomas on the limbs (57%vs 42%, P < .001), and those with a personal history were more likely to have melanoma on the head and neck (21% vs 15%, P < .001).
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